2013 - Week 8

Already 8 weeks into a new year! Pretty crazy! This week WELCOMED a 3-day work week for me, and a full weekend of fun.

Monday I was off for Presidents Day. AWESOME! Christian had to work, my mom kept Olivia overnight last night, and Amelia was off to my in-laws house (per usual), so I had the house all to myself for the morning. Instead of working on my mile-long to-do list, I spent the morning lounging, catching up on some shows and relaxing. Olivia got home around lunchtime. I let her skip her nap today, so she watched a few videos while I got my workout in, showered and got ready. Then, we were off to do some grocery shopping. Once I got everything put away, we picked up Amelia, and made our way to Applebee's to meet Christian and our friends, Nate and Gini, for dinner and some catch-up time. We hadn't seen them in FOREVER, so it was great to spend some time with them. We finally made our way home, sent the girls to bed and relaxed for a bit.

My shopping buddy!

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday were pretty standard days. Work, exercise, dinner, baths, playtime. All of the usual. Olivia has been a bit trying lately. Just overly aggressive, not listening well, whining A LOT. I know it's all pretty standard preschooler stuff, but everything is just over the top. It all came full circle on Thursday. Thursday marked 1 year since the girls started at KinderCare (seriously, the best decision we've ever made!), and, it also marked the first negative report we've ever received (other than Amelia and her partner in crime getting into it). Of course, it was Olivia. I guess he was just completely out of sorts all day - pushing, pulling and hitting the other kids, running around, she kept taking her shoes off and chewing on the laces, she wasn't listening and was just not herself, at all. We had a LOOOOONG conversation about it when we got home. I explained how disappointed I was in her, and she enjoyed a nice long timeout. She had no reason or explanation for her actions - it just doesn't make sense. My best guess, is that 1) I don't think she's been taking a nap, and while many 4-year olds no longer need them - she does, and 2) I think she's getting incredibly bored with the preschool atmosphere. She is definitely ready for Pre-K, and needs the challenge. I did chat with the assistant director a little bit, and she said they are hoping to move her up in the next month. So, HOPEFULLY it happens, and hopefully it helps.

 Olivia helping Daddy cook dinner!

 My new workout crew!

A rare moment of sitting together and bonding!

On Tuesday I did get some fairly good news. As most people know, I work for the state. We've been working outside of a Contract since July 2011 (it's negotiated every 2 years). On Tuesday, the Governor finally signed off on our Contract, which includes a 2% pay raise. Great news, and I'm excited for the backpay that will come with it. But, it's pretty crappy that after years of no raises (just like a majority of the country) they finally pass it, and it's going to end up getting taxed to h-e-double-hockey-sticks. THEN, our Contract is up again this coming July, and I'm sure they either won't pass a contract in time, or put us back on no raises. So, even though our "leaders" look like the good guys, it really ends up working in their favor in the end - and since everybody hates state workers as it is, makes us look even worse, because lord knows, we don't deserve a raise in anybody's eyes. It's a no-win situation. BUT, I'm definitely not focusing on the bad - anything extra, at any time, is so appreciated.

Friday was my day off, and it started with another great weigh-in. I lost 1.6lbs this week, for a total loss of 33.6lbs to date. I was hoping for another good number, but I wasn't feeling super confident. It felt GREAT to see that number! A new round of snow storms rolled into the area overnight, so we woke up to a fresh, mega-coating of snow. It continued to snow throughout the day - but the majority came overnight. The girls played for a bit while I did the usual checkbooks, bill paying, fun stuff. We had some breakfast, got dressed and bundled up, and headed out to play in the snow for a while. We found a park down the road with a small hill, so we played, and took the sled down the hill a few times. The girls LOVED it, and it was some pretty great exercise running around in all that snow! Who says you can't go to the park in the winter?!? And, bonus, the girls had some lunch when we got home, and passed out for some SUPER long naps! AWESOME. I got some very exciting R&R. Christian stopped home from work to shovel and plow the driveway, shower, and was off to his "holiday dinner" for work (yes, at the end of February)...which, is employee only. Lame. So, it was just me and the girls for the night. We had dinner, played some games and had a pretty low-key night. Pretty good start to the weekend.

Saturday started off typical...breakfast, sweeping, dishes. Fun stuff! Olivia and I were off to her swim class. She's getting better, and more brave every week. It's fun to watch her develop week to week. After class, we had some lunch and the girls went down for their naps. I got my workout in, got ready and we were on our way to my Grandpa's house for his birthday. The girls had so much fun playing with all of the other little kids and it was great to catch up with our family. We were all pretty exhausted when we got home...the girls went to bed, Christian and I watched a little TV and passed out.

Amelia, [literally] digging into he cake and ice cream. YUM!

We started Sunday off at the bowling alley with Olivia's BFF and her family.  It was so fun to get out and do something we haven't done for a while and hang out with friends. The girls were all SO excited to see each other, it was so cute. We bowled a game, played in the arcade for a while and made our way home. The girls took their naps while I worked out and we rested for a while. We spent the night playing around the house, doing laundry and doing some cleaning up. What a fun day!